Typographical assembling mechanism



NOV. 24, 1931. HILPMAN 1,833,113 v TYPOGRAPHICAL AS SEMBLING MECHANI SM Filed March 5, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wm; j a mfiay NOV. 24, 1931. HlLPMAN 7 1,833,113

TYPOGRAPHICAL AS SEMBLING MECHANI SM Filed March 5, 1930. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I l r; from which they started.

Patented Nov. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v JOHN H. HILPMAN, or HOLLIS, NEW YORK, Ass crnon TO MERGE-NTHALER LINOTYPE COMPANY, A oonronnrron OF NEW YORK TYPOGRAPHICAL ASSEMBLING MECHANISM Application filed March 5, 1930. Serial No. 433,235.

This invention relates to typographical composing machines, such as linotype machines of the general rganization represented in Letters Patent of the United States No. 436,532, to O; Mergenthaler, wherein circulating matrices are released from a magazine in the order in which their characters are to appear in print and then assembled in line, the composed line transferred to the face of a mold, the mold filled with molten metal to form a slug or linotype against the matrices which produce the type characters thereon, and the matrices thereafter returned through distributing mechanism to the magazine In these ma chines, the matrices when released from the magazine pass down or through a vertical channeled raceway or front plate, and onto the upper stretch of an inclined endless conveyor belt, from which they pass through a guide. throat or chute to an assembler, where in they are composed in line under the influence of a rotary star Wheel.

As ordinarily constructed, the assembler throat is constituted at its lower side by a pair of so-called assembler rails, which partially enclose the star wheel and upon which the matrices are discharged by the conveyor belt, and at its upper side by a socalled chute spring, which is arranged to engage the side faces of the matrices and confine them to their proper path of travel through the throat. The chute spring isusually attached to a fixed part of the machine with its lower end located at a given distance from the assembler rails, such distance being chosen so as to provide for the proper guid rices is so great that the horizontally disposed.v

prongs either fail to function at all or snap down upon the upper ends of the matrices as they clear the spring and thus interfere rather than assist in their assemblage. It has also'been necessary, in machines equipped. with the larger matrix fonts, to tile clearance notches in the spaceband channel, which happens to' terminate at its lower end immediately above the chute spring. Furthermore, an-

other and probably the most serious objection comes from the frequent clogging or piling up of the matrices in the assembler throat because of the undue resistance oifered by the chute spring to the thicker matrices and the consequent delay in their passage to the;

way vary the width ofthe assembler throat to correspond to the different matrix fonts, but owing to the fact that the matrices in some of the more recent individual fonts vary widely in the thickness, the liability to clogging has not been entirely eliminated. c

The present invention is intended to overcome the foregoing and other Objections, and contemplates a chute spring which will offer a minimum resistance tothe descending matrices and which will guide them prOperlyr-a,

both through the throat and into the'assembler without regard to their size or font. To this end, the improved chute spring, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, consists of a pivoted member presenting a pair of-J;

wardly from a fixed support and arranged to guide the thinner matrices by their side faces, as distinguished from their ears. At their lower ends, the ear-engaging arms or flanges of the pivoted member are beveled off horizontally to present a pair of extended guiding edges corresponding to the horizontally disposed prongs of the old chute spring, but inasmuch as the arms escape contact with the body portions of the matrices and since the matrix ears which they engage vary but slightly in thickness, these lower guiding edges are allowed to maintain their proper matrix guiding position and hence function in a more reliable manner.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention is shown merely in preferred form and by way of example, but obviously many changes and variations may be made therein and in its mode of application which will st ll be comprised within its spirit. It should, therefore, be understoo l that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the lower portion of a linotype machine with the present improvements applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of the assembling devices immediately concerned with the present improvements;

Fig. 3 is an edge view looking from the left in Fig. 2, with certain parts removed in order to show more clearly the improved construction;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but show- I ing the improved chute spring guiding a matrix with offset ears; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the improved chute spring detached.

The matrices X (see Fig. 1) are stored in the magazine A and are released therefrom by the manipulation of the keyboard B, whence they pass downwardly through a channel raceway or front plate C onto a constantly driven inclined conveyor belt I), which discharges them one after another in the order of their release into a throat E leading to the assembling elevator F. Here they are composed in line with spacers Y under the influence of a star wheel G, and the line thereafter delivered to the casting mechanism, all as is Well understood in the art.

The matrices X are formed as usual with upper and lower projecting ears 2?, which are generally located at one side of the individual matrices, and that side during composition is the rear or following one. )Vhen therefore, the matrices are delivered to the conveyor belt, they will lie upon their rear sides, and their projecting ears (which themselves vary but slightly in thickness) will pursue the same path to the assembler throat without regard to the thickness of the matrices. However, in

some of the matrix fonts now in use, and for reasons well-known to the art, certain of the thicker matrices are back-milled, or, in other words, have their projecting ears spaced or offset somewhat from their rear side faces (see the matrix shown in Fig. t). This condition is also true in the case of the fifty five character fonts employed in the model commercial machines or described in the Kennedy Patent No. 1,397,967. spring herein proposed and which, as before stated, cooperates with the projecting ears of the matrices is intended to serve equally well in handling both the regular and backmilled matrices.

As best shown in Fig. 5 the improved chute spring or guide member J presents a pair of spaced side arms or flanges d and an intermediate connecting strap portion J arranged at the upper enes of the arms. In the form shown, the guide member is made of metal, stamped out in the flat, and then bent to shape, the cost of manufacture thereby being reduced to a minimum.

When the guide member J is applied to the machine, the arms 1 thereof are adapted to overlie the curved assembler rails E in such relation thereto as to constitute the upper side of the throat E, the lower edges y' of the arms being disposed in close spaced re lation to said rails (which constitute as usual the bottom side of the throat) and being curved throughout the greater portion of their length with the curvature diverging generally upward from the lower ends of the arms away from the assembler rails.

In the present instance, the guide member J is pivotally mounted at its upper end on a fixed bearing pin J so as to permit the depending arms J thereof to be pushed or swung aside by the matrices of the back milled type and, at the same time, offer when necessary a yielding resistance to the regular matrices, whose projecting ears may happen to strike the lower edges of the arms. The guide member J is located in its normal position by means of a stop pin J, which is arranged adjacent the bearing pin J in engaging relation to a lug or horn J projecting downwardly from the strap portion J When the horn J is engaged with the stop pin J, the lower ends of the arms J will be sustained in spaced relation to the assembler rails E at a distance determined by the matrix ears of the maximum thickness, so that all matrices of regular form may pass freely through the throat without appreciably -disturbing the position of the guide member, it being understood that the projecting ears of the matrices lie in the vertical planes of the arms J while their body portions are disposed between the arms and are therefore free to project up througl'i them without regard to thickness. However, under ordinary assembling conditions, the matrices are de- T he chute livered to the throat at quite a high rate of speed and their momentum is such that, as they take the curve of the throat, the suspended weight of the guide member J might be insuflicient to maintain the arms J in their normal position against the sudden shocks of the descending matrices. Consequently, to give the guide member the required resiliency, it is provided with a light wire spring J which (as best shown in Fig. 3) is coiled around the bearing pin J with one of its ends pressing against the connecting strap portion J and its other end reacting against the stop screw J The arms J at their lower ends terminate a predetermined distance above the star wheel G and, as will be noted from Fig. 2, present straight horizontal guiding edges 9' which are adapted to cooperate with the upper ends of the matrices as they pass into engagement with the star wheel. These guiding edges i act to resist the impulses of the star wheel which tend to thrust the matrices upwardly and forwardly, and in this way greatly facilitate the assemblage of the matrices in line. Moreover, since the matrices are guided by their projecting ears rather than by their side faces during their passage through the throat E, the displacement of the arms J is relatively slight, so that the guiding edges 3' are allowed to maintain their proper relation to the matrices at all times after the correct position of the member J is once established.

The back-milled matrices. before referred to, because of the higher location of their projecting ears, will of course displace the arms J to a slightly greater extent than the regular matrices, but such displacement is still relatively small as shown in Fig. 4, and hence these matrices will also be properly restrained against abnormal upward movementand so. directed into the line properly and without delay or undue vibration.

The guide member J is intended more particularly to handle matrices above a certain thickness, altho it is also capable of handling a majority of the thinner ones. Many of t iese latter matrices, however, (those ranging in thickness, say, from a minimumof .020 to .030 of an inch) are so light in weight that their behavior under the guiding action alone of the member J'niight be somewhat uncertain. For this reason, in carrying out the invention, supplementary means are provided for guiding these extremely thin matrices through the throat E independently of. the guide member J. Such means (as best shown in Figs. 2 and, 3) consist of a thin, flexible leaf spring K secured to one of, the guide plates of the raceway C ata considerable distance above the guide member and which extends downwardly below the latter a to a point adjacent thelower-ends ofthearm J. The springKis adaptedto cooperate with the top or front side faces of the matrices, being disposed normally in a position above the assembler railslh at a distance therefrom determined by the thickness of the thinnest matrix, and being narrow enough to clear the inner walls of the arms J when it is displaced by the thick matrices. As thus arranged, the very thin matrices will be gradually straightened out by the spring K as they enter the throat E and then be held thereby lightly engaged with the assembler rails E until they emerge from the throat. At thistime, they are subjected to the action of the star wheel G before described but, like the thicker-matrices, will be properly guided into the assembler F by the straight horizontal edges j at the lower ends of the arms J While the spring K permits the free and 1. Typographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices of different thicknesses formed with projecting ears and including, in combination, an assembler wherein the matrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembler, rails leading from the discharge end of the belt to the entrance of the assembler, and guiding means for confining the matrices to their proper path of travel as they pass along said rails, said means including a pair of flanges for guiding the matrices above a certain thickness by their projecting ears, and subsidiary means associated with said flanges and arranged incloser proximity to the rails for guiding the thinner matrices by their side faces.

2. Typographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices of different thicknesses formed with projecting ears andrincluding, in combination, an assembler wherein the matrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembier, rails leading from the discharge end of the belt to the entrance of the assembler, and guiding means for confining the matrices to their proper path of travel as they pass along said rails, said means including a resilient member for guiding matrices above a certain thickness-by their projecting ears,

and a thin flexible leaf spring associated with said member for guiding the thinner matrices bytheir side faces.

3; Typographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices of difierentthicknesses form diwithprojecting ears and including, in

combination, an assembler wherein thematrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembler, rails leading from the discharge end of the belt to the entrance of the assembler, and guiding means for confining the matrices to their proper path of travel as they pass along said rails, said means including a pair of flanges for guiding matrices above a certain thickness by their projecting ears, and a thin flexible leai spring associated with said flanges tor guiding the thinner matrices by the1r side faces, said guiding flanges being formed at their lower ends with horizontally disposed guiding edges for engaging the upper ends of both the thin and thick matrices as they enter the assembler.

4:. lypographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices of different thicknesses termed with projecting ears and including, in cmnbination an assembler wherein the matrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembler, rails leading from the discharge end of the belt-to the entrance of the assembler,and guiding means for confining the matrices to their proper path of travel as they pass along said rails, said means including a guide member resiliently mounted and presenting two side arms or flan es overlying the rails for guiding matrices above a certain thickness by their projecting ears, and subsidiary means associated with the flanges for guiding the thin matrices by their side faces, said flanges be- Ing formed at their lower ends with horizontally disposed guiding edges for engaging the upper ends of both the thin and ti icl; matrices as they enter the assembler.

5. 'ly 'iographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices of different thicknesses formed with projecting ears and including, in combination, an assembler wherein the matrices are confined in line, a conveyor belt tor delivering matrices to the assembler, rails lea ding from the discharge end of the belt to the entrance of the assembler, and guiding means for confining the matrices to the r proper path of travel as they pass along said rails, said means including a thin flexible leaf spring for guiding the matrices by their side faces, and guiding means mounted independently of said spring for engaging the matrices at their upper ends as they enter the assembler.

6. Typographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices formed with projecting ears anll including, in combination, an assembler wherein the matrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembler, rails leading from the discharge end or" the belt to the entrance or the assembler, and means resiliently mounted for guiding the matrices by their pro ecting ears as they pass along said rails.

7. Typographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices formed with projecting ears and including, in combination, an assembler wherein the matrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembler, rails leading from the discharge end of the belt to the entrance of the assembler, and a matrix guide member presenting two side arms or flanges overlying the rails and arranged in position to engage the projecting ears of the matrices, said guide being pivotally mounted to permit temporary displacement of the side arms thereof by the passing matrices, for the purpose described.

8. Typographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices formed with project ing ears and including, in combination, an

assembler wherein the matrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembler, rails leading from the discharge end of the belt to the entrance of the assemble"- a pivoted guide member presenting a pair of depending side arms or flanges overlying the rails for guiding the matrices by their projecting ears, and a spring for holding the guide member resilien ly in operative position.

9. Typographi al assembling mechanism for handling matrices formed with projecting ears and including, in combination, an assembler wh rein the matrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembler, rails leading from the discharge end of the belt to the entrance of the assemoler, a pivoted guide member presenting two side arms or flanges overlying the rails for guiding the matrices by their projecting cars, a stop pin for locating the guide member in operative position, and a spring for holding the guide member resiliently engaged w'th the stop pin.

10. Typographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices formed with projecting ears and in. hiding, in combination, an assembler wherein the matrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembler, rails leading from the discharge end of the belt to the entrance of the a, sembler, and a matrix guide member presenting two side arms or flanges overlythe rails and arranged in position to engage the projecting ears of the matrices, said guide member being mounted so as to permit temporary displacement of the side arms thereof by the passing matrices, and the said arms bei -g formed at their lower ends with horizontally disposed guidin edges for engaging the matrices at their upper ends as th y enter the assembler.

11.. Typographical assembling mechanism for handling matrices formed with projecting ears and including, in combination, an as sembler wherein the matrices are composed in line, a conveyor belt for delivering matrices to the assembler, rails leading from the discharge end of the belt to the entrance of the assembler, and a matrix guide member presenting two side arms or flanges overlying the rails and arranged in position to engage the projecting ears of the matrices, said guide member being pivctally mounted to permit temporary displacement of its side arms by the passing matrices, and the said arms having their lower edges curved throughout the greater portion of their length and formed at their lower ends. with straight horizontally disposed guiding edges, substantially as shown and described.

12. In or for a typographical assembling mechanism, a matrix guide member presenting a pair of depending side arms whose lower edges are adapted to guide the matrices by their projecting ears and formed at their lower ends with horizontally disposed guiding edges to cooperate with the upper ends of the matrices.

13. A matrix guide member according to claim 12, characterized by the fact that the lower ear-engaging edges of the side arms are curved throughout the greater portion of their length.

14. A matrix guide member according to claim 12 made from a sheet metal stamping bent to shape.

15. A sheet metal matrix guide member presenting two parallel spaced side arms or flanges and an inverted U-shaped web portion connecting said arms at their upper ends, leaving the space between the arms open at both sides throughout the length of the arms.

16. A guide member according to claim 15 characterized by the fact that the connecting web portion is formed with a bearing opening to receive a pivot pin on which the guide member is to be mounted.

17. A guide member according to claim 15 characterized by the fact that the connecting web portion is formed with a projecting piece to act as a stop for the guide member when mounted pivotally in the machine.

In testimony whereof, this specification has been duly signed by:

JOHN H. HILPMAN. 

